Perspective - Royal Haskoning in the UK

Managing risk offshore
Developers are bound by the Construction Design & Management (CDM) Regulations 2007, which apply to all projects
involving construction work carried out in Britain and its territorial waters. The difficulty is that this legislation has most
often been applied to land-based projects, which do not always readily integrate with marine activities and maritime
legislation.
The regulations therefore need to be tailored to meet the
unique challenges raised by offshore wind energy projects,
such as: managing the risk of deep water, suitability of
vessels, heavy lifting operations, competence of workforce,
and structural integrity of the turbines and other support
structures, as well as the logistics of getting materials and
personnel out to the site under normal circumstances and
in an emergency.
As wind farm sites are proposed ever further offshore
developers will have to use larger vessels for installation
and to support maintenance. Royal HaskoningDHV is
working at Sheringham Shoal to overcome issues associated
with using an anchored, rather than a jacked-up vessel.
Whilst anchored vessels can work in deeper waters they
are subject to wave and tidal motion which makes them
more difficult to keep in position, involving the greater risks
associated with frequent anchor handling. Issues such as
this, and how to replace the use of divers who are currently
regularly used to fine-tune installations, will become more
difficult to overcome as the Round 3 wind farms start their
construction phase.
The Royal HaskoningDHV team is primed to minimise and manage the risks associated with wind farm development, taking
into account existing conditions and those that the industry will face with the planned Round 3 projects. We want the wind
industry to be renowned as a safe environment for its workers, and we encourage best practice in this area through the
use of Hazid and Hazops workshops. Hazids (Hazard Identification) workshops bring together all the primary players on a
development to identify potential hazards, attribute responsibility to a person/contractor, and explore how those hazards
can be mitigated. Hazops (Hazard Operation) workshops are a more process-driven exercise which looks at the implications
of different scenarios. Conducting these workshops at the outset of a development is critical to establishing what the risks
are and taking early steps to mitigate them.
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Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy
Royal HaskoningDHV Perspective UK Wind Energy
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